House of Vampires
by MusicalWind
Summary: A human girl is adopted by Carlisle Cullen and lives for several months, literally, in a house of vampires. And one werewolf and a half-vampire half human.
1. Chapter 1 A New Home

_Okay, I need to give you some background first._

_So Morgan was always a foster child but a few weeks ago she was in a really bad car accident that killed the person she was currently living with, and her leg was broken in the process. Carlisle was her doctor for the time she was in the hospital and they became really good friends. Now, for reasons I can't tell you or it'll ruin the story, Carlisle decided to foster Morgan. Basically that's what happened._

_(Also, someone asked me why Bella's eyes were still red if Renesmee is already done growing. This story takes place about eight or nine years after Breaking Dawn, so Renesmee has had plenty of time to grow. Bella's eyes are red because she recently found a random human who was pretty much, to her, what she was to Edward. (Before she changed.) And since she hasn't had an extra decade to adjust to not eating humans, she… slipped up. And ended up killing seven or eight people. So her eyes are still adjusting to eating animals again.)_

_And that's about it. I know I'm forgetting something but oh well._

_Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or any of the characters. Except Morgan. *tear*_

_-MusicalWind 3_

**Chapter 1- A New Home**

"This is where I live now." It wasn't a question. It was a statement. A very, very confused statement.

"Yep. This is the place." The falsely cheerful social services lady told me.

It was huge- that was the first thing I noticed. Massive. Practically a mansion. And it was like one of those really modern houses, all windows. Glass walls. I could see two people inside. As they walked closer, coming towards the door, it was easier to see them.

They were astonishingly- indescribably- beautiful.

The first one I recognized as the doctor who'd treated me. (I'd recently broken my leg in a traumatic car accident) What was his name? Carlisle. That was it. He had blonde hair and strange, bronze colored eyes. The second person I didn't recognize. She was probably the wife Carlisle had told me about, Esme, I think, was her name. She had a pretty, heart-shaped face with brown hair and the same bronze eyes. They both smiled in a welcoming- and dazzling- way at me.

"Hello, Morgan!" Carlisle called as he walked through the open door with Esme.

I smiled weakly back, but said nothing. The past few weeks were starting to get to me- and their startling beauty certainly didn't help.

They walked up to the car, and Esme let go of Carlisle's hand to come towards me. She paused for a moment right in front of me, and then swept me up in a tight hug. She was cold, like she had no body heat whatsoever. For a moment I was startled, but the embrace was so reassuring that I wasn't really frightened.

"Esme," she told me, obviously unsure if she knew who she was or not. She let me go and kissed my forehead, then turned back to Carlisle, who offered me his hand to shake.

"Even though we already know each other," he whispered, and winked. I smiled, and shook his hand.

"Okay! We should go inside now and make sure everything's settled!" the social services lady called. Her voice was nasal and rough compared to Carlisle and Esme, who sounded like velvet.

About half an hour into discussing fostering junk (I kind of phased out for most of it,) three other women came into the kitchen, where Carlisle, Esme, the annoying social services lady, and I sat at an antique table. They were just as beautiful as Esme was, in their own way. One was very short, shorter than my five foot two, but she looked about 18. She had short black hair and bronze eyes, like Esme and Carlisle. She bounced on her toes excitedly. The second woman, who looked about the same age, was taller, and she had chocolate brown hair. Her eyes were a disconcerting shade of bronze-red. She looked very stressed, almost in pain. The last woman was older- probably 20 or older. Her hair was the same shade of brown, although hers was bronze-ish, curly and very longer. She was the only one with a bit of color in her cheeks- every other person here was pale white, something I hadn't noticed before. Her eyes were brown, and I was apparently so freaked out that it startled me.

"Morgan, this is Alice, Bella, and Renesmee." Carlisle said, pointing at the black-haired woman, the taller one, and the long curly hair woman respectively.

I was about to smile, but before I could even react, Alice bounced up towards me and swept me up into a crushing hug. She was cold like Esme had been.

"Hi Morgan! How are you?" she asked. Without waiting for my answer, she continued babbling so rapidly I could barely keep up. "I finished your room- sort of. I didn't really know what you wanted. I only knew you liked horses, but that was kind of enough. They had so much horse stuff! I hope you like it! But of course we can always redo it if you want…" I tuned her out after that. I didn't bother to try and make sense of the stuff she'd already said- how (and why) would she have already made a new room for _me?_

"Um, Alice." Esme coughed. I glanced gratefully at her.

The older woman with the long hair- Renesmee- smiled and gave me a hand to shake. I took it with a smile that I hope looked tired, but happy.

"Ignore her. She's always like this. But she'll go away… soon." Renesmee said.

I looked at the last woman, Bella. She smiled at me, but didn't try to shake my hand or make any sort of contact. It didn't look like she was breathing. I hoped she didn't dislike me, but I was grateful not to be attacked. Alice freaked me out a little.

"Oh!"Alice gasped, and ran out of the room. She was startlingly graceful, like a ballerina. I couldn't help but gape at her as she left. Inwardly, I hoped that there was at least one normal person in this house- one person who wasn't amazingly beautiful. I didn't know how long my self-esteem would last in this house.

"Humph." That was the social services lady- I'd forgotten she was here. "We really need to get finished here. I'm on a schedule, you know."

"Oh, yes, of course. We didn't mean to disturb you." Carlisle said. I wasn't sure, but I think he winked at me. It was so fast I could barely tell.

Two hours of fostering junk later, I was released from my position at the kitchen table. Alice came back into the room the minute the social services lady left, bouncing up and down like before. Inwardly, I sighed.

"Okay, before you get the grand tour, we have more introductions!!!" she exclaimed. "This is Edward. He's Bella's husband. He'll really get on your nerves if you let him, so sometimes you just have to ignore him." I wondered if he could get "on my nerves" more than Alice was now. I saw him smile a little, like he was enjoying an inside joke. Man, he was handsome. He had bronze hair and topaz eyes that seemed so deep I could see inside him. "And here's Jasper. He's mine," Alice told me. Jasper had dirty blonde hair and bronze eyes, like all the others. He looked stressed, like Bella had been, but he was better at hiding it. He wrapped one arm around Alice's waist and smiled at me. My legs seemed to turn to butter. I'd pretty much given up on my one "normal" person. It seemed as though I'd always be the ugliest- and for a long time I'd been vain enough to consider myself pretty. "Here's Emmett and Rosalie, his wife." Alice told me. Emmett was _huge._ Like a passionate body builder. He almost scared me, but the welcoming smile on his face was enough to make me smile back. I shook his hand, which was nearly twice the size of mine, and cold like Alice and Esme had been. He laughed and I giggled a little, but he was still big enough to intimidate me and I couldn't find it in me to join his chortle. Rosalie was _very_ pretty- prettier than Alice or Bella or Renesmee or Esme. She had long blonde hair and bronze eyes. The eyes were beginning to disturb me. Rosalie looked angry, but she shook my hand anyway and then left, taking Emmett with her.

Alice looked finished, and I started to feel relieved. Jasper, Edward, and Esme left. Carlisle looked to be very passionately into a book he'd picked up, so I figured he'd be staying put.

"Here's Jacob," Alice said suddenly. I'd been distracted; I was looking at the kitchen. It was spotless, like it never was used. I looked up to see Jacob- and was totally taken aback. He was completely different than every other person I'd seen today. While they were pale white, he had russet skin. His hair was black, and long. And he was _normal._ Not to diminish him, he was someone I'd normally consider handsome. But compared to the other people I'd meet today, he was ugly, like I was. He smiled at me and shook my hand, then left. I heard him shout Renesmee's name from down the hall.

"That's everyone." Alice said.

"Finally…" I muttered quietly. Alice giggled like she'd heard me- but that was impossible. She was all the way across the room from me. She must've been laughing at something else.

"Okay, time for the tour. We'll go to your room last, just to be suspenseful." She told me. I sighed silently. Alice looked like she was stifling a giggle.

The house seemed even bigger on the inside than it had on the outside. I was worried I might never find my way out. Eventually we made it to what I assumed was my room, since she'd said we'd go there last.

"Remember, if you don't like it, we can redo it…" she said, like she was worried I'd hate it, and that it would personally offend her if I did. I wondered if she'd really put some work into it. Maybe she'd painted the walls, maybe she'd gotten a bedspread or something. She'd said she'd looked for horse stuff or something…

When she opened the door, I knew this was no ordinary foster home.

Alice must've spent months on this room. The walls were covered in galloping horses- I wondered how they'd gotten there. They looked like they'd been painted by a professional. The bed had the horse covered bedspread I'd expected. There were strikingly realistic model horses on every empty surface. I wanted to stay and admire the room, but Alice tugged me towards the closet impatiently.

It was huge. Twice the size of the bedroom. Maybe bigger than the kitchen. And stocked full of fancy, probably designer clothes.

"_Wow."_ That was all I could manage. It was amazing. The clothes in that closet probably cost hundreds, maybe thousands, of dollars. I hoped I'd stay here- my past two foster homes had only lasted two years each.

Alice was looking at me like she was still worried I'd be disappointed. I smiled and then ran up and hugged her. "Thanks!" I almost shouted. This was overwhelming. I could feel tears building behind my eyes.

"Wait- there's more." Alice told me. _More?_

She took me back into the bedroom, and then led me to the window. I looked outside- and screamed.

_Hehe a cliffhanger. But keep reading; the next chapters are better._

_REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW! I don't know what you're thinking unless you tell me! Good, bad, keep writing, stop writing, YOU HAVE TO TELL ME!_

_-MusicalWind 3_


	2. Chapter 2 The Scream

_Second chapter yay! Hope you guys like it._

_-MusicalWind 3_

Alice took me back into the bedroom, and then led me to the window. I looked outside- and screamed.

_A wolf._ There was a wolf outside the window. I only saw it for a second, but then it was gone. It ran straight past the house. I looked after it, but I didn't see anything, it was already gone.

"Alice, there was a wolf! You saw it?!" I exclaimed. That thing was _huge._ The size of a horse. It probably couldn't get into the house, but it wasn't safe to have wild animals right outside. Someone would get hurt… eventually.

Alice muttered something that I won't repeat, but she didn't sound at all scared, just frustrated.

That was when I saw what Alice probably intended for me to see- there was a horse standing in a corral just behind the house. I screamed again, but this time it was in joy, not fear.

Alice seemed to be out of it- her eyes were glazed and distant, her head tilted to the side. I'd wanted to say something to her, but the distracted look on her face freaked me out.

"Alice!" I said quietly. What if she was having a seizure? Or a heart attack or something? She didn't break out of her trance.

I started running. I wasn't sure where I was going but hopefully I was headed for the kitchen. "Carlisle!" I screamed, twice. But as I turned a corner into yet another hallway, I bumped into something _very_ hard, like a rock. Jasper. My stressed brain didn't comprehend how strange he felt.

"Jasper! Something happened to Alice! There was a wolf outside the window and then she was all spacey and out of it and it looked like there was something wrong!" I babbled nervously. Jasper seemed to keep up with everything I was saying but nothing at all alarmed him. Ever so slowly, I started to calm down. I stopped bouncing, then my breathing slowed, then I stopped talking and just kind of stood there. It was really weird.

"I'm sure she's fine, she has… weird… moments like that." It wasn't Jasper that spoke, it was Edward. He must've come into the room and I hadn't noticed.

"There was a wolf too! Just outside the window!" I couldn't bring myself to conjure the panic that seemed proper for the moment. I was utterly- creepily- calm.

"We see wolves all the time. They never stay very long- no prey. He'll be gone by the morning." Jasper said. His face was very controlled, like he was hiding something.

"What about the horse?" I asked.

"The ho- oh. Right, it'll be fine, wolves don't eat horses… I think. We'll put it in the barn tonight." Edward said reassuringly. It only served to confuse me more, but I let it go. Calamity swept over me like a never-ending fog.

"We should make sure Alice's okay…" I suggested. "She looked pretty… bad."

"Alice is fine." Jasper's words were so finalizing I didn't dare say anything back. "We should go see your horse- if you want it?"

"My horse?" I was confused. They bought a horse _for me?_ I was nothing more than a foster child, but so much seemed to have gone into me. I let it go.

"Yes, your horse. We bought her for you." That answered my question. "Actually, we bought three… We didn't want to get just one because Bella was afraid it would be lonely. So you can pick which one you want… or you can have all three."

They bought me _horses._ My life-long (thirteen years might not mean much but it's all that I've ever had) dream was to own _one_ horse. Wow.

The horses were amazing. The Cullens hadn't known was kind of riding I would be doing, so one was a Quarter horse, for Western riding, one was a Warmblood, for show jumping, and the last was a cute little pony that could do just about anything. The one I'd seen in the paddock outside the house was the Quarter horse- a chestnut (reddish-brown all over, with a light-creamy mane and tail.) His name was Yankee. The Warmblood was black, a mare, her name was Havana. The little pony was a roan, white with red hairs sprinkled in. He was called Sailor.

I spent hours in the barn that day. Horses were something that was always really important to me, but kind of just a distant dream. The novelty of owning one was hard to comprehend. I was in heaven.

"Morgan… are you still in here?" Someone called from the entrance to the stable. Renesmee.

"Yeah, I'm here." I answered.

"Dinner's ready." She told me. Dinner. I was surprised by how hungry I was. I finished grooming Sailor and put him back in his stall.

Renesmee told me that Bella had made dinner, but that Bella wasn't eating with us- in fact, no one was eating besides Jacob, Renesmee, and I. She didn't give a reason why, and I didn't ask.

Bella was a very good cook. She'd made steak and potatoes. I ate like I hadn't had a proper meal in weeks. Jacob ate about three times what I did, but Renesmee didn't seem that hungry. She nibbled mostly, made a lot of disgusted faces. Maybe she didn't like steak.

When Jacob and I finished scarfing down a meal that could've fed a family of four, Renesmee was the first person to say anything.

"So, Morgan, do you think you'll like it here?" she asked me.

I was currently savoring a bite of chocolate cake, but once I swallowed and wiped the icing off my face, I told her, "Yes. Everyone is really nice… Except Rosalie."

Renesmee looked angry; Jacob seemed to chuckle a little. "Rosalie doesn't take very well to new people. Don't take it personally. She _hated_ Bella for a long time. It wasn't until I- after Bella married Edward that Rosalie accepted her."

"Oh," was all I could manage. I started eating more cake, so that was kind of it for conversation. Renesmee left soon after. I wondered if I'd offended her, but Jacob said she'd eaten before I'd come in, and wasn't hungry. That was weird- I'd thought Renesmee was hiking with Jasper and Emmett before dinner, but I was kind of used to people saying weird things, so I dropped it.

Jacob was _still_ eating when I finished, but I suddenly found myself so tired I could barely sit up straight.

"Um… do you mind if I leave early? I'm tired…" I said, drifting off in the last sentence. Jacob had just put a huge bite of cake in his mouth, so he just nodded. I hauled myself out of the chair and was out of the kitchen when I realized I had absolutely no idea how to get to my room. I settled for wandering aimlessly. I'd probably run into someone eventually, someone who knew their way around. A lot of people lived in this house.

After only a few minutes I was thoroughly lost. Thankfully, Esme found me, and was kind enough to lead me all the way to my bedroom. This time, I was able to stop and admire all the hard work Alice had put into it without being hurried.

"So you like it?" Esme asked me, her face hopeful.

"Of course! It's great; Alice must've spent years in here." I gushed.

"Actually it was both of us. Alice mostly did the closet and the bathroom, although she helped me pick out the bedspread and the little horses."

"Oh, I had no idea! She seemed ready enough to take all the credit… Thanks," I tacked on at the end. I hugged her, and was again surprised by how cold she was.

"It was a lot of fun," she said. Her expression seemed almost embarrassed, and I expected her to blush, but her cheeks remained as pale as ever.

Esme left soon after that. I hunted in my closet for pajamas- finally finding a floral print nightgown that seemed suitable. The bathroom was off of the closet, not the bedroom, and that was why I hadn't noticed it before. I opened the door hesitantly, not sure if it'd be huge and amazing like the closet, or just a normal bathroom

It was huger and amazing-er than I'd expected. It was like a spa. I hadn't intended to take a shower, but the huge bathtub seemed so tempting I couldn't ignore it. Of course, it was more like a Jacuzzi than a bathtub, and my "quick shower" turned into an hour-long soak. By time I was ready for bed, it was past midnight.

The mattress was expensive Memory foam- about the most comfortable bed I've ever laid on. I fell asleep instantly.

_Yeah that's about it. Hope you liked it._

_REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW! I don't know what you're thinking unless you tell me! Good, bad, keep writing, stop writing, YOU HAVE TO TELL ME!_

_-MusicalWind 3_


	3. Chapter 3 The First Morning

_I know this is a short chapter. I'm off my creativity today. Review and I'll have a longer one for you tomorrow!_

_-MusicalWind 3_

**Chapter 3- The First Morning**

I awoke to Alice. She was bounding around my room, cleaning. Not that it wasn't already spotless. I hadn't really had a chance to even move in yet, really.

"Ooh! Morgan! Time to get up!" she trilled. I groaned and sat up- and laid back down when I saw the time. 6:00.

"No! You WILL get up! Your first bell rings at nine!" she shouted.

"Gah! You're going to wake everyone up! And it doesn't take me _three hours_ to get ready for school." I complained. She ignored me and continued cleaning.

"I have to teach you how to use your closet! And I was thinking we could do a little makeover, you have really pretty hair. You need to do _something_ with it!" I could see at that point that arguing was hopeless. I dragged myself out of bed and kind of just stood there, waiting for Alice to do something with me. It was weird- I'd only met her yesterday, yet it seemed as though I'd known her all my life. Maybe she was just predictable.

"Okay, first the closet. It's organized into sections, school clothes, casual clothes, fancy clothes…"

~~**~~

"Whoa," was all I could manage. I couldn't believe that the face in the mirror was mine. I could still see all of my features, but I was _beautiful._ Almost comparable to Alice, who hovered nervously behind me as I gawked at the woman she'd transformed me into.

"Whoa." I said again. I probably sounded like an idiot but Alice didn't seem to mind. She was ecstatic that I was happy with her past hours' work.

"Oh, Morgan! You're so pretty! I wish you'd lived here forever; I can have so much fun with you! Bella _never_ appreciated me. Even on her wedding day, she thought I was being silly. But if I didn't work on her, she'd wear sweatpants down the aisle." I didn't understand why Bella would need fancy clothes and makeup like I did. She could probably wear dish rags and still be gawked at. Her entire family could. I suddenly felt much excluded, but it took only one look in the mirror to amaze myself again.

"We really do need to leave the room, though. I would like it if you'd wear something other than a nightgown to school, and you need some breakfast…" Alice trailed off. I hadn't been looking at her; I was admiring my face and hair. But I saw something weird in the mirror. I turned around and found Alice in a trance, like she'd been yesterday. Her eyes were unfocused, her head tilted to one side. One hand held a brush, held out towards me as though she'd been reaching for my hair and stopped midway. It was spooky.

_"Alice is fine." _Jasper's voice echoed through my head. I stood like an idiot for a moment, wondering if I should be panicking. After a minute or two, I turned my back on phased-out Alice and began an endless search for something to wear.

After only a few minutes, Alice came into the closet and helped me in my search for suitable clothes. She offered no information about her unexpected interlude, I asked no questions. We picked out a pair of nondescript jeans and a long pink shirt with fuchsia flowers in one corner. Once dressed, I walked back out into my bedroom, finding Alice cleaning- again. My thoughts were of OCD.

"Okay, time for breakfast. We're leaving in half an hour." Alice told me. I nodded and followed her through the endless hallways until we reached the kitchen.

"Do you think I could have a map of the house?" I asked her. She made a strange sound, somewhere between a giggle and a snort.

"I'm serious. Do you realize how large this place is?" She still didn't take me seriously, but at that point I was too hungry to ignore the smell of syrup, pancakes, and waffles.

We entered the kitchen to the Jacob, eating a stack of pancakes. I thought that stacks that high only happened in animated movies, but Jacob didn't seem at all daunted. He was enthusiastically drizzling (pouring might've been a better word…) syrup onto his mini mountain.

"Hey Morgan!" he called to me, and then refocused onto his food.

"Hi," I said shyly. Alice made me a plate with my own stack of pancakes. (Half the size of Jacob's; I knew I'd never finish it.)

Surprisingly, I did. I almost asked for seconds, but Jacob had just helped himself to the last of the pancakes, and I decided that more sugar probably wasn't a good thing. I could get hyper and bouncy just like Alice _always_ was.

"Okay! Time to go!" she told me.

I groaned at the thought of my first day at a new school. No matter how many times I was the "new kid," it wasn't something you got used to.

_Another cliffhanger! Next chapter is better._

_REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW! I don't know what you're thinking unless you tell me! Good, bad, keep writing, stop writing, YOU HAVE TO TELL ME!_

_-MusicalWind 3_


	4. Chapter 4 School

_I kinda didn't get as many reviews as I was hoping, but since they were all so positive, I decided to post anyway. Next time I'm NOT posting until I'm happy with my reviews. Although, the way I've been, I'll probably end up with like five more reviews… Oh well._

_-MusicalWind. (BTW, all the three's that have been coming after my name are because I was trying to put hearts in. But it didn't work. So now I'm mad.)_

**Chapter 4- School**

It didn't look like much that was for sure. I mean, maybe Astoria, Oregon wasn't a big city or anything, but this school was very nondescript. Just a collection of brick buildings. I would've past right by it if I were driving.

So it surprised me when Alice turned the Volvo into what I immediately assumed was the drop off ramp.

Instead of just dropping me off like I'd expected, she parked the car and got out.

"What're you doing?" I asked her.

"I was going to come with you, we have to go to the front office first and get your schedule, and then I just thought I'd walk you to your class," she looked hurt as she said it. "Do you want to go alone?"

"No! No, that's not it; I'm just not used to it… I've never been in a foster home where I was treated this way." I quickly reassured her. She still seemed a little offended, so I wrapped my arms around her. She hugged me back.

~~**~~

It was probably a good thing that Alice came with me- I never could've found the front office without her. If you haven't figured out already, my sense of direction is absolutely hopeless.

The office wasn't a big place, nothing more than a very long, narrow room, divided the long way by a tall desk. Behind it, a tired-looking woman sighed into a phone.

"Yes, I know you need to speak to her… I can't just pull her out of a conference, sir… If she hasn't checked her email there's nothing you can do but wait… Listen to me. I cannot pull her out of another student's conference to speak to you, sir. I will tell her to check her email as soon as… Sir? Hello? Ugh." The woman hung up the phone with an exasperated smile and then turned to Alice and me.

"I'm very sorry about that. Can I help you with anything?" she asked maternally.

"This is Morgan Cullen; might you happen to have her schedule handy?" Alice asked.

"Oh! Morgan, hello, nice to meet you." I thought that remark was strange; I hadn't spoken a word, and I didn't think that qualified as "meeting" me. "I have your schedule right here. First period is Science, with Mr. Neere. Second is…"

I had a hard time holding on to all of the information shoved at me, but I got the feeling I could make it through the day without too much trouble. The first bell rang just as the woman finished showing me the easiest routes to each of my classes. She smiled and waved as Alice and I walked out. I smiled back, probably looking very nervous.

"Do you think you'll be okay?" Alice asked me. Her face mirrored my anxiety exactly.

This place was so different than any other I'd stayed at in the past. Before, I was… kind of like an extra. A third wheel. My past foster parents loved me, I knew that. But, no matter how you think about it, I wasn't their child. I wasn't as important as that. Here, I was important. Like everything depended on making me happy. I was overwhelmed by all of this love- it just wasn't something I was used to.

"I'm fine," I lied. I could tell Alice wasn't convinced, but she let it drop.

"You're just as bad a liar as Bella was…" she dropped off and sighed. "'Bye, Morgan."

She kissed my cheek, and turned her back and left.

I'd never been kissed before. Ever. I don't even know what happened to my original parents- I don't miss them or regret not having them. You can't miss what you never had. But somehow, I'd never been very close to my foster parents. They were nothing more to me than kind people who fed and cared for me. Everything was different here.

Carlisle and Esme- they were like my own father and mother. Jasper, and Jacob, and Alice and Renesmee- they were like my brothers and sisters. The others- Rosalie, Emmett, Edward, Bella- I didn't know them well enough. But still, they were special to me.

I'd never really had a family. At least, not until now.

~~**~~

I was still recovering from the shock of the morning's epiphany when the first bell rang. I walked to Mr. Neere's classroom like a zombie. At least none of the other students seemed to notice me. I was notoriously shy.

When I reached the classroom, I didn't really know what to do. Some other students were standing outside the door- were they just chatting before the late bell, or were they waiting because Mr. Neere wasn't in the room yet? I didn't want to walk all the way up to the door, just to look in the window and then turn around and walk back out like an idiot, but I didn't want to be late to class, either. Thankfully, my problem was kind of solved for me. A very tall, balding man-I would presume Mr. Neere-opened the door from the inside and stood with his back too it, holding it open for the students. Hesitantly I walked towards him.

"Um… Mr. Neere?" I asked cautiously.

"Yes? Are you… Morgan?" he asked me.

"Uh, yeah, that's me."

"Well, come on in. I'll help you get set up and everything."

So far, so good. Hopefully I wouldn't have to sit next to a scary goth kid or a really hot guy (although I think my taste in boys has been permanently damaged by being around Edward, Jasper, Emmett, and even Carlisle) or something.

Mr. Neere told me that I'd shown up at a very bad time- Science Fair was next week and I didn't have a project at all. Instead of shoving an entire project down my throat, he was nice enough to just give me some book work to occupy me while he discussed paperwork and display boards with the rest of the class.

I know a lot of people might've groaned at having to do book work, but I didn't mind it. It wasn't challenging, and books didn't display any opinions. I finished before the class was over, so I kind of just sat for a little while. Unfortunately, "just sitting" wasn't enough to distract me from the glances people constantly threw at me. I was sitting by myself in the back of the room, but somehow everyone in the room managed to gawk at me anyway. I wanted to crawl under a rock.

It seemed like ages before the bell rang. I grabbed my stuff, put my paper in the turn-in basket, and left, walking quickly. Apparently I wasn't quick enough.

"Hey, you're Morgan, right?" someone asked me. I turned to see who it was- just a girl from the science class. I smiled and waved a little and kept walking. My next class was only a few doors away…

"Um, so, what class do you have next?" the girl asked me.

"Uh… English, with Miss Banner." I answered. _Please don't follow me, please, please…_ I thought.

"Oh! Me too! Maybe we can sit together," she made it sound like I was the most interesting person ever, and that sitting next to me would be the rarest of treats.

"Maybe…" I said, trying to sound bored. Maybe she'd get the hint.

"Oh, by the way, my name's Alison." She started chattering about boys and evil teachers and things of that nature that I really didn't feel like listening too.

We made it to Miss Banner's class much faster than I normally would've gotten there, if I was walking alone, because the pace I set had Alison struggling to keep up with me. When we were in the classroom, Alison waved at me and went to sit down with three other girls at a table. I headed towards the desk, where a woman I assumed was Miss Banner sat typing at a computer.

"Um, Miss Banner?" I asked. This sounded just like Mr. Neere's class. I wasn't excited.

"Oh! Hello, it's Morgan, right?"

"Yeah."

"Okay, well, why don't you go sit next to Makalya, and I'll get you a book. We're just starting a new one, so you haven't missed anything."

"Okay, thanks."

I sat down next to Makalya, a tall girl with wildly curly hair. She smiled at me and then continued talking to the boy on her other side. I was content to sit in silence.

Miss Banner brought my book before too long. It was one I'd already read. Great. Oh well, at least it wouldn't require too much concentration.

I was mostly bored for that class. There wasn't much to think about, but I was pretty much over the stares I received from the other students. I was tired, unused to waking up as early as Alice had.

After English came P.E. Ugh. I was not known for my coordination.

Luckily, the Coach didn't make me dress out today. She gave me a uniform and assigned me a locker, but I just sat for the rest of the period. So far, today was not that interesting.

At lunch, I ended up sitting with a large group of girls, including both Alison and Makalya. The two of them introduced me to all of the other girls at the table, but I only caught a few names.

After lunch was an advanced writing class. I usually did very well in school, but I'd never had any advanced classes. This was a novelty.

The teacher was Mrs. Roberts; she was nicer than any other teacher I could remember. And so were all of the students. Not one of them stared at me or whispered to a friend. It was all very welcoming.

I could feel that this would've been my favorite class, no matter what subject it was. The fact that it was a writing class made it all the better. I loved writing- it was just something that came naturally to me.

Today, the prompt was "Describe an Important Person in your Life." It took me several minutes to decide what to write about. I was torn between Carlisle and Alice. Eventually I decided to go with Carlisle, purely because there was more to write about. Alice I'd only known for a day or two. I'd met Carlisle several weeks ago and it was much easier to come up with things to write about.

When the bell rang, I was reluctant to leave. I took my time packing up my stuff, but eventually nothing could detain me in that classroom. Sighing, I left and started the hunt for my next class- Geography, with Miss Neukem.

That was a bad class. The stares were back, and apparently Miss Neukem was evil. She glared at me when I walked in and didn't give me any leeway for being new. There was a quiz today on a section I hadn't read, and I'm sure I flunked. What a great way to start a new class.

I was relieved and tired, at the same time, when the bell rang and I only had one class left. Unfortunately, that class was Algebra. Uhhhh.

Luckily, I had Mr. Garner, and he was a lot nicer than Miss Neukem. He didn't make me take today's quiz and he made sure I understood the night's homework.

Alice picked me up after the last bell. I was about ready to crash right there in the car.

"How was your day?" she continued without waiting for my answer. "I thought maybe we could go shopping today, but then I figured you probably had enough clothes. So then I was thinking maybe we could go see a movie or something. There's a new one out that looks really good-"

"Um, Alice, I kinda was hoping I could take a nap or something?" I interrupted. Alice looked hurt for a second, then understanding.

"Okay, that's fine, I understand."

_Okay, maybe it's not the most interesting of chapters, but the next one's really good. I kind of had to get the first day out of the way._

_REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW! I don't know what you're thinking unless you tell me! Good, bad, keep writing, stop writing, YOU HAVE TO TELL ME!_

_-MusicalWind_


	5. Chapter 5 Eavesdrop

**Chapter 5- Eavesdrop**

I couldn't fall asleep, not even in the softest of all expensive Memory-foam beds. I was downright exhausted. My plan after school had included nothing but naps, but that hadn't happened when I remembered the horses. So I'd been riding for about four hours, certainly enough to wipe just about any one out. And yet, I suffered unwelcome insomnia.

I turned in bed and looked at the clock. For the gabillionth time. 10:36. Uuuuhhhhhhh.

I decided to get a drink of water. I hauled myself out of bed (how come my body was tired if my mind wasn't?) and trudged down the stairs. I was about to push open the kitchen door, when I stopped myself in my tracks. My eyelids popped open.

"She can't stay here forever!" a hushed voice snapped. Rosalie. "It's no secret she's about the most accepting human in the world. But what happens when she brings a friend home? _They _would notice something and it'd be all over!"

Was she talking about _me?_

"Listen, it's not going to be long. Two, three years at the most. She's so happy here, and I couldn't just let her die. If you'd give her a chance you'd realize how special she is!" Carlisle responded.

I was shocked, but I stayed, totally still, just outside the door. I couldn't be sure they were talking about me…

"And when she finds out? How do we know she'd keep the secret?"

"There's no telling if she will. She doesn't seem to notice things- the cold, the pale skin, the senses, the strength, even the lack of eating. Edward would've told us if she were thinking things like that."

"Don't you think three years is long enough for her to realize we don't grow? Even Renesmee's stopped now."

I was certain they were talking about me now. But what secret where they hiding? I was starting to cry. I knew this was too good to be true. I obviously wasn't wanted here. My sob was nearly silent, but they could hear it. Both of them stopped talking instantaneously.

"Morgan?" Carlisle called.

Finally, I cracked. My sob broke loose of my chest. I started running, even though I knew they could catch me. And they did- Carlisle's restraining arm was on mine almost before I'd taken a stride.

"Just... let me go," I sobbed. Carlisle looked apologetically at me, but he let go. For a moment, I just stood there. But then I took off, running as fast as I could, even if I knew it was pointless.

I was almost to the front door when I was stopped from behind. My arm was jerked back in its socket. I was surprised it didn't snap in the uncomfortable hold. Whoever held me could obviously rip me to shreds in an instant.

"You can't leave now."

_I know it's short. I'm writing the next chapter right now. I'll post it tomorrow morning at the latest. I have to go to dinner tonight so I might not have it this evening._

_REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW! I don't know what you're thinking unless you tell me! Good, bad, keep writing, stop writing, YOU HAVE TO TELL ME!_

_-MusicalWind_


	6. Chapter 6 The Explanation

_Here's another chapter. I had a hard time writing it; dialogue is tricky. So you better appreciate it. And review. Reviews are always good._

_-MusicalWind_

**Chapter 6- The Explanation**

"You can't leave now." The voice was so finalizing. I couldn't argue.

_I'm not leaving. I won't tell anyone. _I thought.

Edward let me go. I grabbed my sore wrist and rubbed it with my other hand. I didn't turn to look at him. I couldn't bear to see his beautiful face for what it was.

_Why did Carlisle take me? I can't stay here now; I don't want to be where I'm not wanted._

"Only Rosalie dislikes you. Alice would be heartbroken if you left. Jasper would too- maybe more because he cares for Alice, but he would miss you. Carlisle and Esme wouldn't want you to leave. Jacob's enjoying another person who eats with him. Renesmee likes you. Emmett likes everyone. Bella would like to be around you but she can't, and I stay with her. But that doesn't mean we want you to leave. Rosalie can just suck it up." All of that was very flattering, but I wasn't sure I wanted to live in a house of… people who could crush me.

"We wouldn't do that- not even Rosalie." Edward reassured me.

_Can I leave now? Please. I just… need to be around something normal._ My horses were the only refuge I could think of.

I didn't hear him leave, but I knew when he was gone. I opened the door and walked out into the rain.

The stable was warm. The horses' soft breathing was comforting. I lay quietly in the straw beneath Yankee's feet. He wouldn't step on me- although it would probably take care of a lot of problems if he did. If he'd just plant one hoof in the middle of my chest… I was going to die anyway. I didn't know how Carlisle knew, but it didn't matter, did it?

Only now, after all of my tears were cried, could I bear to think about what I'd heard. All of the weird things I'd noticed- the cold mostly, but also the little things- they never ate. The grace, the strength, all of those things. I wondered if they were monsters, like from a movie. Maybe they were zombies. Or vampires, or just plain old super humans. I wasn't sure I wanted to know.

I wondered if I was really going to die. Carlisle had said two or three years… That would make me fifteen or sixteen. Not very long to live. I didn't want to die, but I also didn't want to live. I'd never been really happy- I always seemed like an extra, someone who wasn't wanted. That was until I'd come to live here, and everything seemed in place, only to be ruined within two days. I didn't have a life worth living.

Edward's reassurances held nothing to me. I obviously wasn't wanted here, by Rosalie if no one else. Never before had I been _un_wanted. It felt strange.

Eventually I could find nothing else to think about. It was past midnight, but I still couldn't sleep. I didn't move to go back to the house. I just sat in an unthinking stupor.

~~**~~

I couldn't make it to school the next day. I'd slept very little and was emotionally drained. I stayed in the stable all day- Renesmee and Jacob brought food every couple hours, which I never ate. I nibbled, to be polite, but as soon as they left I cast the plate away. Alice visited me several times. Sometimes Jasper was with her. Esme came to see me, and I spent a long time crying in her arms. Carlisle visited once, but he left after just a few minutes. Bella and Edward came to see me, but Bella was obviously uncomfortable, and they left soon. Even Emmett came out once, but nothing could console me. I felt awful, seeing all of their concerned faces and rejecting everything they gave me, but I was so far gone I couldn't believe they cared.

~~**~~

I fell asleep in the barn the next night. Alice must've decided that I needed to sleep in a bed, because I woke up when she was carrying me. She was so graceful and her stride was so smooth, it was actually the bright kitchen lights that woke me. As soon as I opened my eyes I saw Rosalie's perfect face in a furious glower. I cringed away from her, but then I realized her gaze was directed at Alice. I looked up at Alice, but her face was totally devoid of emotion. It was almost a little creepy.

Alice pretended not to know I was awake. She didn't speak to me until I was in my bed, and I could see that she could see my eyes were open.

"Are you doing okay, Morgan?" she asked me. Her voice oozed concern. I wondered how I could ever doubt whether she cared about me.

"Um, I think so," I said in a weak voice. "Can you… explain… what I heard?" I asked. Hopefully she'd know what I was talking about.

"Um. Depends on how much you want to know." She told me hesitantly.

"As little as possible- just enough to know what Carlisle was talking about, with the 'strength, senses, and whatnot,' and the 'two or three years at the most.'" I said. I wondered if it was really worth knowing.

"Well, I would think it would've all added up by now. You noticed the cold skin, and Carlisle's speed, and the senses?" she asked me.

"Yeah."

"It's all for _hunting."_

"Hunting what?"

Alice sighed. "You. Humans." She paused. "We're vampires."

I screamed once.

"But you won't hurt me?" I said when I was somewhat calmed, when my shaking had slowed enough that my words made sense.

"No. I hope not. Not on purpose." She told me.

_"Not on purpose? _What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means we try our best not to… drink people's blood. We survive on animal blood, but… it never quenches the thirst. If we were around any open, bleeding wound, we probably wouldn't last long. Or rather, the bleeding person wouldn't." It was all so shocking. I couldn't make sense of it all.

"Why not?" I asked.

"Not what?"

"Why do you not kill people? Wouldn't it be easier just to do what you're supposed to?"

"It's Carlisle's thing. He hated feeling like a monster- he's a very compassionate person. So he decided not to. And Edward, Esme, Rosalie, and Emmett followed in his footsteps as he created them. Jasper and I came to live with them on our own, and Bella just joined us a few years ago. She fell in love with Edward when she was still… human. And eventually Edward changed her."

"What about Renesmee? And Jacob? They're so different." I asked.

"Renesmee is half human, half vampire. Bella and Edward's daughter. She was conceived, carried, and delivered when Bella was still human. Jacob is a… werewolf."

"I saw him the first day? That was _Jacob?"_ I was incredulous. And yet, all of this was starting to make sense- each of them seemed made for this fantasy world I hadn't even known existed.

"Yeah, that was Jacob." Alice sighed. "He really needs to be more careful about phasing. It drives us all insane."

"Why does he live here?"

"Um, it's some special werewolf thing. _Imprinting._ He loves Renesmee." I just accepted it. I didn't want a more complicated explanation.

"What was Carlisle talking about 'two or three years,'?" I asked. I was scared, like I didn't really want to know.

"I think he should explain it…" Alice said. "Carlisle?" She called, in a voice just barely louder than one she'd use in normal conversation. I didn't doubt that he would hear.

"Yes?" Carlisle asked as he entered the room, less than a second later. His casual tone soon turned to shock when he saw my face. I could imagine it- probably nearly as pale as his, and very scared.

"You know?" he asked me.

"Yes." I answered. My voice was surprisingly calm.

"Everything?" he questioned.

"No. Not about the 'two or three years.'" I told him. My calm broke; my voice shook.

"Oh. Well. Being a vampire, I was able to smell the cancer-"

"No!" I shouted. "I don't want to know that much, just… how long? And why did you take me? To make me happy for what I had left?"

"Well, two or three years was my estimate for how long. But I took you in because… I was hoping you might rather change, to be one of us, than to die. You were so special- such a sweet and kind person, for lack of better words-in the hospital. I didn't want you to die. I thought I would have a year or two to break it too you, but I guess not. And now it's your decision. Do you want to become part of our family, or would you rather take your fate as it was meant to be?"

Oh. Wow. That was not what I was expecting. "Why would it make a difference? Would I not die if I were a vampire?"

"No. We're immortal." Carlisle to me.

I stammered. I didn't know what to say. "I guess… I would rather… I don't know. Can I sleep on it?"

"Of course, no hurry. There's probably more you should know, though, before you make a final decision."

"Like what?"

"Well, first, the diet. I wouldn't dream of holding you to our animal diet, if that wasn't what you wanted. But if you decide to stay with us and live our way- well, quite frankly, it's painful. Physically painful, to stand in a room of humans and not attack them. Although most of us never seemed to have a problem." Carlisle's information shocked me. Was I _hurting_ them?

"I hurt you right now?" I asked. I would feel so horrible, knowing I was painful to be around.

"Not me. I'm around blood so much at the hospital, and four hundred years of practice certainly hasn't hurt. How about you, Alice?" I turned to look at her face after Carlisle's question. She didn't seem to be in pain or anything…

"I'm good. You aren't particularly potent, as far as humans go, Morgan." She said. Her voice was light and didn't carry the stress any normal voice would've, given the situation.

"Is that a good thing?" I asked.

"I guess so. Neither Bella or Jasper ever even thought about you."

"How do you know that?" I pondered.

"Um, another vampire thing. I know whenever anyone's planning to do things, if that makes sense. It's like seeing the future, only more subjective, not certain. It's like Edward reads minds and Bella blocks mental powers and Jasper controls emotions and Renesmee's special talking." I hadn't caught any of that last sentence past "Edward reads minds." That was a lot to take in at one time.

"I think I'm done. Explain more in the morning? I need to sleep," I said. Carlisle nodded and left without a word, and Alice told me good night and then left.

_Ooh, this one was so much fun to write. I was going to make it longer but I decided that two chapters were better. So you have to wait for more. I'm so cruel. Oh well._

_REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW! I don't know what you're thinking unless you tell me! Good, bad, keep writing, stop writing, YOU HAVE TO TELL ME!_

_-MusicalWind_


	7. Chapter 7 The Decision

_Okay, I spent like 3 hours trying to find pictures of the horses. All of the pictures are on my webpage, if you care to look at them. I tried to find a picture of Morgan too but the image I have in my head is of a girl at my school, and I couldn't find a picture close enough. The web address is: .com/windshorses_

**Chapter 7- Decision**

When I woke up, it was like nothing had happened. I remembered everything, crystal clear, but instead of overwhelming, now it just made sense. It was completely perfect. I'm in the midst of vampires… and a half-vampire half-human and her werewolf boyfriend. Wow.

I'd slept way past time to go to school. It was almost one o'clock. Sigh.

But I figured it wouldn't matter. I was going to die anyway, why bother with an education? Of course, there was always the option of becoming a vampire, but I didn't think that was something I wanted. Most people would think I was crazy. But it made sense to me.

I got up pretty soon. Once I was awake, it was usually almost impossible for me to fall back asleep. I managed to get to the kitchen without getting lost, although I had to ask Emmett for directions once. He laughed at me and I felt like a total idiot. But I made it.

Jacob was (predictably) eating a bowl of cereal with passion. I had no doubt that it was his third or fourth bowl. I sat down on the opposite side of the table and poured a bowl of Cheerios for myself.

"So, you… know about all of this?" he asked me hesitantly.

"Yeah." I answered. I wasn't feeling particularly talkative today.

Apparently Jacob wasn't either; he poured more cereal, and we ate in silence.

~~**~~

I hunted for Alice and Carlisle after I finished. I conveniently ran into Alice just outside the kitchen door, and she told me Carlisle was at work.

"Did you need something from him?" Alice asked me.

"Well… I was kind of hoping to learn as much as I could before I make my decision. And he's so great at putting things so it doesn't scare me." I informed her.

"Oh, okay. Well, I'm assuming you don't really feel like going to school today?" she asked.

"Oh. Yeah. Probably. I thought maybe I'd go for a ride." I said.

"You and your horses. You spend all your time out there." Alice sighed.

"Well, it's only been like three days! One of which I was so messed up I don't even remember it. So it doesn't count." I argued.

Alice sighed again but helped me find a pair of breeches to wear. She didn't come out to the stable with me, though. I got the feeling she didn't like horses very much.

The horses were happy to see me- they were all much more afraid of the vampires than I was. Probably a smart thing, but they were lonely a lot.

I decided to ride Havana today. I had a hard time getting the saddle on her back- she was so tall! Probably close to 17 hands. Eventually she was all tacked up and I lead her out to the arena. I had to use a mounting block to get up.

Havana was probably the most well-trained horse I'd ever ridden. She might've been able to make it to the Olympics if she'd had a good rider. She was older now, though, and not as spooky as a normal show horse- good for someone like me, who didn't really know how to ride.

Today, I was just walking and trotting. Havana had the smoothest trot of any horse I'd ridden. I took her over a few poles, but after a while I was bored. I wasn't really an arena rider- I preferred trail rides, with scenery that was more interesting than fences.

I un-tacked and groomed Havana, then put her back in her stall. I took out Sailor and put the Western saddle and bridle on him. When we were ready to go, I lead him out of the stable and mounted up.

I rode him straight through the woods. I let him pick his way between trees and shrubs and undergrowth, giving him only a general direction to head: away from the house. After a while, I let him walk pretty much unguided, letting the reins slacken and flap against his neck. My thoughts drifted aimlessly between ferocious, fanged monsters, and beautiful faces.

Did I want to become a vampire? I didn't know how the changing process worked, but I guess that wasn't a big deal. Would I be beautiful like the other Cullens? Maybe, just for that, it would be worth it. But then, did I really want to live forever? I'd always be younger than the rest of the family. That would be annoying. Living forever didn't seem like a very good option to me. What if the humans ended up destroying the planet? What if we were the only living creatures on the entire planet? It didn't seem like a very good option.

Dying in two years was none to appealing also. I didn't know what it was like to be dead. I didn't want it to be over. I wanted a normal, healthy human life.

I couldn't see a third option. There wasn't one.

Eventually I seemed to have it all figured out. I'd made my decision. I was ready to go back to the house.

I turned Sailor in a half-circle, hoping that he hadn't strayed too much from the direct course I'd sent him on. If he hadn't, moving this way should take us back to the house…

After two hours of riding in a straight line (I was much more alert this time) I started to panic. What if we were going the wrong way? What if we were headed away from the house?

Before I could get too freaked out, the stable, and then the house, came into view. I hurriedly put Sailor away and back into the stable. Carlisle should've been home by then. He was- I could see his car in the garage.

"Hey, Morgan, I've been looking for you," he told me as I walked into the kitchen.

"Me too." I said. "I know what I want."

"Oh, well, I thought you might want to learn a little more before you make a final decision." He said with concern in his voice.

"Sure." I was complacent enough.

~~**~~

We talked all through the remainder of the day and the majority of the nighttime. He told me about the painful conversion from human to vampire, he told me about the history of vampires, he told me about the Volturi and the rules they enforced, he told me about the diet, he told me about all of the "powers" that some people gained when they changed. He told me everything. I remembered everything. And I knew what I wanted.

"Are you sure you know what you want?" Carlisle asked.

"Yes. I'm sure."

_Ha. You have to wait for the decision. I want reviews before I post. So, please,_

_REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW! I don't know what you're thinking unless you tell me! Good, bad, keep writing, stop writing, YOU HAVE TO TELL ME!_

_-MusicalWind_


	8. Chapter 8 Just so you know

_Okay, I know this is a piteously short chapter. But so many people reviewed that I thought I'd not leave you hanging. This chapter is purely so that you know Morgan's decision. No plot or anything. The next chapter is much more interesting._

_-Musical Wind_

"Are you sure you know what you want?" Carlisle asked.

"Yes. I'm sure." I couldn't help but pause; my mood was very dramatic. "I'm staying human."

Carlisle's face flashed many emotions. Shock. Concern. Anger. Confusion. And finally, understanding.

"Okay… are you sure? I always thought you'd avoid… death…" he trailed off.

"Well, that's just for now. Maybe, when I'm fifteen and dying, I'll change my mind. But until then, I don't want to be a monster."

_Yep. That's it. I'm so pitiful. You'll just have to work with me._

_REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW! I don't know what you're thinking unless you tell me! Good, bad, keep writing, stop writing, YOU HAVE TO TELL ME!_

_-MusicalWind_


	9. Chapter 9 Days

**Chapter 9- Days**

My life became blissfully happy. My days were spent at home- I never returned to school after that one day- with my horses and my family.

Esme homeschooled me, which only took one or two hours after Jacob and I ate breakfast.

After school, I usually went riding. I stopped riding Havana and Yankee and kept mostly to Sailor, so eventually we sold them and bought a miniature donkey, to keep Sailor company. I would ride until lunchtime, and then eat with Jacob. Renesmee sometimes ate with us.

After lunch was my daily makeover with Alice. My hair was dyed every color imaginable- from blonde to blue and brunette to purple. It was curled and cut and put up in fancy dos. I never wore the same outfit twice.

After the makeover, Alice sometimes took me shopping or to a movie or something. She worried that I wasn't getting enough interaction with people my age, so she often shoved me into awkward situations that I didn't appreciate.

And yet, with all this happiness, one date remained a dark, looming cloud over my head. My life was not perfect- just close.

~~**~~

"Hello, Sailor," I called as I entered the barn. I could see him eagerly waiting at the door to his stall. Carol, the donkey, had managed to shove her nose just over the edge of the door so that she could see out, too.

"Yes, I see you too," I reassured her. She made a small snuffling sound and retreated into the stall. I walked to an empty stall, once Havana's, but that was now used to tack and stuff like that. I heaved the heavy grooming box from it's shelve and put it down outside Sailor's stall. I put a halter on him and then cross-tied him in the aisle. He snorted eagerly. I laughed and got to work grooming him.

First was the curry comb. I worked over his coat in small circles to loosen all of the dirt. Next came a body brush, flicking away all of the now-loosened dirt. And last was a smaller, softer face brush. I also combed his tail and mane and cleaned out his hooves. All of that took me about thirty minutes.

I put the grooming kit back into the empty stall, and took out the white saddle pad and my Western saddle. I still had my English one, too, but I rarely rode with it. I put the pad and the saddle on Sailor's back, one at a time. When I'd tightened the girth I went back to the stall and brought out his bridle. Before I put it on, I quickly tightened the girth two notches- Sailor often held his breath while I was adjusting it the first time, so that it'd be looser. If I walked away and then came back, I could usually get the girth tight enough. Sailor grunted. I slipped the bridle on and then undid the cross ties. I lead him out of the barn and mounted.

We walked through the forest at an easy, relaxed pace. We knew this area well, from two years of exploring together. I could tell when we reached less familiar territory, because Sailor stiffened a bit and slowed down. I urged him on with my heels.

I could tell when it was near noon, because I started to get hungry. I turned Sailor around and we headed for home.

~~**~~

Usually, I cooked all three meals (Jacob couldn't toast a bagel to save his life) but today I was feeling lazy and I just heated up frozen pizzas. When I sat down to wait for the timer to go off, Jacob came into the kitchen and sat across the table from me.

"Hey, Morgan. What's cooking?" he asked amiably.

"Pizza. I wasn't up for a full-blown meal. Sorry," I said sheepishly.

"No problem. I love pizza. Oh, and Renesmee said she'd eat with us today," he added.

That was odd. Renesmee almost never ate. I'd assumed she went hunting with everyone else, instead of eating human food.

"Um, if you don't mind me asking… what does she eat? I mean, Alice said she was half vampire, and since she hasn't eaten with us since the first day I was here, I'd always assumed she eats whatever they do," I said.

"Oh, well, she does, but human food works with her too. She doesn't like it very much, though, that's why she doesn't eat," Jacob told me. He was always so easy going, never offended by something I asked him.

_DING!_ The timer went off. I jumped out of my skin. I'd always been sort of skittish like that, it was just me. Jacob snickered good naturedly at me.

I pulled the pizza out of the oven and brought it over to the table. Before I'd even set it down, Jacob snagged a slice. I grimaced at him but didn't take action. I got some paper plates from the cabinet and set them down on the table, too.

"Oh, sorry I couldn't help you cook, Morgan, I didn't mean to just show up and eat," Renesmee apologized as she opened the kitchen door.

"Ha, frozen pizza hardly counts as cooking, though. I don't mind," I reassured her. She smiled and sat down next to Jacob.

We ate in pretty much silence- Jacob inhaling slice after slice, Renesmee picking apart her piece, like a picky child, and I contemplating the differences between their eating styles. It was quite humorous.

~~**~~

And so my days blended into each other. I didn't think it was possible for one person to have so much happiness. It seemed almost unfair- not that I was complaining.

But, only a few months after my sixteenth birthday (quite an extravagant event; Alice went overboard on decorations and bought me a car) I could tell my time was winding down. I got weaker and skinnier every day, I was never hungry, and I caught colds more than any person I'd ever met. Carlisle treated me for every ailment I suffered, but I was a shadow of my former self. I often cried myself to sleep, knowing that I was almost finished. And yet, I couldn't bring myself to agree to become a vampire.

_You better like this chapter. I'm suffering writer's block and I struggled to put this on paper. Plus there are a lot of things going against me now._

_First, I'm a thirteen-year-old trying to write a story from the POV of a sixteen-year-old. That's just unfair._

_And second, I have no idea how cancer works._

_And third, I don't know where to make the story go from here. This might be a side effect from the writer's block._

_So please, appreciate this._


	10. Chapter 10 Changes

_A few changes- I was planning on a longer storyline, but it didn't work out. So from now on, Bella's eyes were always bronze and never tinted red. Because I forgot what I was going to write. Ignore it._

**Chapter 10- Changes**

I could tell I was about to die now. I couldn't move. I couldn't sit up, or make any sounds, or even open my eyes. I could barely breathe. That was when I changed my mind. I was ready. I would change.

Immortality didn't seem such a bad fate now. Better than death, I suppose. I definitely wasn't ready to die.

There was still a problem, though. How was I supposed to tell them what I'd decided, when I couldn't so much as lift a finger?! _Edward._ He would help me.

_Edward! Edward! Help me! I can't move and I want to change! I can't speak! Tell Carlisle! _I shouted mentally. Oh, crap. Edward was hunting. If I could just hang on until he got back… I kept screaming, hoping he'd get close enough to hear me. I couldn't let go, not yet…

**Bella's POV. (It's much more interesting here.)**

Edward and I were enjoying four mountain lions, a mother and her three nearly-grown cubs. Edward said lions were his favorite; I was yet to develop a preference. Carnivores were always better, though; we agreed on that.

I was laughing as Edward made a dramatic show of biting into the mother lion's throat when he stopped. Totally stopped moving. I stopped laughing, too.

"What's wrong?" I asked. He looked completely horrified. And then he was running. Without my inhuman vampire sight that I still wasn't quite used to, I wouldn't have even seen him move before he was gone. I chased after him.

**Back to Morgan's POV.**

It seemed like hours that I waited. I wasn't going to die. I wouldn't. I fought the huge black haze that threatened to surround me.

I thought of the things I loved here. Alice, for sure. She was like my best friend. And Carlisle, the one who'd brought me to live here. Brought me to my happy place, my dream come true. Esme, and Jacob, and Renesmee and Jasper… And Sailor, too. I could never forget Sailor.

I thought of afternoon makeovers. Scarfing multiple pizzas in one sitting. Endless, timeless rides through the forests behind the stables. It was all I could do.

Suddenly I felt a poke. Actually, more like a prick, and quite painful. I couldn't move, but it went away soon. I forgot about it after a moment.

Then I felt two more pricks, right next to each other. My skin burned where it had been touched. Everything was hot- so hot. It was spreading, journeying from my shoulder down towards my chest. I felt it move, like hot acid on my skin, but also on the inside. I wanted to scream but I still couldn't move. The hot reached my chest, my weak, beating heart, and the heat doubled, tripled, quadrupled. It couldn't get any hotter. And yet it did. It burned inside me. Intolerable. I still couldn't move. Everything was hot now. My entire body was consumed with the pain. I could see red beneath my closed lids. It never ended. I couldn't think about one thing long enough to forget the pain. Images flashed through me- mostly faces, Alice and Esme and Carlisle, but nothing stayed long enough. I wanted to think about something else. Anything but this awful pain. Death was the better alternative now.

My senses started to return after what seemed like hours, days, even weeks, of pain, but it was probably only a few minutes. I could hear first. I heard Alice calling too me, and Carlisle moaning in the background, something about regret.

"Morgan, are you there? Can you move? Morgan?" Alice called. _Go away!_ I wanted to say. She spoke too loud, too close. It hurt my ears.

But I _could_ move! I flicked one finger. I could move. That was new. And then I totally forgot; the pain distracted me. Such horrible, burning pain. Everywhere, consuming me. So…much…pain…

There was a shrill, uncomfortable sound in my ear. It was too loud, like Alice's voice. I tried to say something, to tell her to stop. And when I tried to form words, the sound stopped. _I'm screaming,_ I thought. And the pain distracted me, and the screaming continued.

I opened my eyes with some difficulty. Everything was tainted red, probably from the redness behind my lids. Alice was sitting on the end of my bed, looking concerned. I was still screaming. Stupid, burning pain. I wished it would go away, and I could stop screaming.

I closed my eyes again and gave up on movement. I laid and, if I screamed, I didn't notice. The sounds blended in my mind, fogged over with pain. Time meant nothing. I didn't wonder how much longer it would be, because I couldn't think. Too much pain.

~~**~~

I didn't know how long it had been. The pain had turned my brain to mush. I couldn't think. I couldn't feel the pain anymore- or rather, I couldn't imagine anything besides it, and it seemed so natural it didn't hurt. I could hear people talking to me- mostly Alice, but also Esme and Carlisle, and even Rosalie, which surprised me. I never really caught what they said. Sometimes I opened my eyes, or moved a finger, once I even think I sat up subconsciously, but I never really understood what was going on.

~~**~~

I could feel the pain start to fade. Just a tiny bit, at the tips of my fingers and toes. It spread quickly, moving towards my heart. Instead of heat, now it was ice. The heat burned all the hotter to my heart, but it was fading everywhere else. When the ice reached my tired, barely-beating heart, it stopped. Both the heat and the beating. It all seemed to collapse inside me. And I didn't hurt anymore.

Hesitantly, I opened my eyes. I closed them immediately. What I saw- it shouldn't be seen. It was too perfect. Too clear. All my life I'd had 20/20 vision. And yet, this surpassed anything perfect eyes could see.

I peeked through one eyelid. I could see the ceiling in perfect detail, as though I were standing right next to it, with a magnifying glass. I could see the tiny imperfections in the wood. As I moved my eyes, I could see everything there was to see in the room. The marred, plastic surface of the lamp. Individual specks of dust coating every surface. (Suddenly I understood why Alice always seemed to be cleaning.) It was disorienting.

My hearing came back, too. As I listened, I could hear voices that seemed to be coming from downstairs. I could hear Sailor eating hay in the stable. And- with some concentration- I could hear a car pass down the road. I could hear all the way to the road. Wow. After admiring my impressive (to say the least) senses, I sat up. The motion hardly rustled the sheets. Again, wow.

"Alice? Carlisle?" I called in a conversational voice. It wasn't mine, though. That voice was like silver, like velvet. The sweetest voice I'd ever heard. That was _me?_ Alice came into the room, followed by Carlisle.

"Oh, Morgan, you're so pretty now!" Alice squealed. She took my wrist and pulled me towards the closet. The feel of her hand alarmed me. It wasn't right, it wasn't cold.

_Well of course it isn't,_ I thought. Right. I was the same as she was now. She wouldn't seem cold to me.

To my intense surprise, I was able to swing lightly out of bed without falling. Normally I'd be sprawled on the ground in a second.

Alice totally disregarded me and concentrated on tugging me to the closet. I followed her without complaint. We walked through the closet and Alice stopped me at the door to the bathroom.

"Are you ready?" Alice asked me.

"Ready for- oh, yeah, duh," I said. I would've blushed if I could, but I couldn't.

Pausing dramatically, Alice swung open the door, revealing the prettiest reflection I'd ever seen.

I couldn't believe it was me. My hair was less kinky, and obviously softer. Instinctively, I touched it, and the girl in the mirror mimicked me. My face was perfect- it had lost the childish roundness, and the features were much more proportionate. Before, my nose and lips were too small for my huge, dark eyes. The eyes were much smaller now, but before I could totally relish the picture, I was distracted.

"They're red!" I screeched, but it wasn't a screechy sound, it was still perfect.

"Yeah, that'll go away in a few months. Don't worry about it," Alice said.

The rest of me was perfect, too. I was skinny now- not that I'd ever really been obese, but now I was a little bit slimmer. Lost baby fat, sort of. I was taller- probably not literally, but my legs were longer, making me look tall.

I was amazing.

_Okay. Weird chapter. And sorry about the funny ending. Writer's block, remember? Oh well. Hope you like it._

_Review please!_


	11. Chapter 11 The Hunt

_Sorry it took so long. My laptop got the dreaded BLUE SCREEN OF DEATH, and I couldn't use it all weekend. This is a short one, just so that you guys know I'm not dead. So… yeah. Here you go. Hope you like it._

**Chapter 11- The Hunt**

"Are you thirsty?" Alice asked me. I hadn't even noticed before, but… I was. Intensely thirsty. The dry burning in the back of my throat was almost unbearable. I suddenly felt as though I couldn't talk, so I just nodded.

"Carlisle, we're going hunting, okay?" Alice called. I heard him make a quiet "mmk…" sound. I wouldn't have heard it, even if I stood right next to him, when I was human.

Alice towed me back through the bedroom and leapt out the open window. I paused.

"Um, how am I supposed to do that?" It was a two story window, and the landing was muddy, but with lots of rocks jutting out.

"Just jump! It comes naturally to you, if you trust yourself," Alice said.

I took a deep breath compulsively. Suddenly I was very distracted- breathing was so strange. There was no relief at the motion- nothing at all. This vampire body was so strange.

Having gotten over the breathing ordeal, I closed my eyes- then reconsidered and opened them- and jumped. I was falling for less than a second, and then I was on the ground. The sharp rocks didn't hurt, like I was afraid. I had socks on, but no shoes, and still I barely felt them. I looked up at Alice, who was watching me expectantly, and I smiled.

"Let's go. We're hunting bears today- they smell more like humans than deer or other herbivores. You probably won't like the scent anyway, but it's the best we can do," Alice said.

"Okay," I agreed.

Alice started running- she was gone in an instant. I never would've seen her move if I didn't have my amazing vampire senses. I followed her into the forest.

Running was a totally new experience for me. I moved so fast that the trees and shrubs and undergrowth should've been blurred, but they weren't. It was disorienting, like everything else today.

Alice was faster than me, I noticed, but not by much. I was a lot stronger, being a newborn- something Carlisle had told me about, but that I'd never really believed. I used my extra strength to make longer, more efficient strides. I matched paces with her and stayed there. I could see her smiling at me.

Soon I could smell what I assumed Alice had been looking for. It wasn't a totally unpleasant smell, but it wasn't appealing either. I could hear the bear as it walked through the trees. It couldn't hear me, though, which was quite convenient. I jumped onto a tree branch and clung to it. The clueless animal was soon beneath where I hung, suspended by my arms and legs. I flung myself away from the tree and landed on the bear's back. I heard a sickening snap- presumably the spine. Due to my position, the bear was pretty much defenseless. I snapped at its throat instinctively, and soon I hit the hotspot I was looking for. Red liquid seeped into my parched mouth. The bear's struggles grew feeble, and then he was finished. I threw the carcass away. My thirst definitely wasn't quenched, though. Hardly what I would call muted, even. It burned nearly as dry as before.

I was a mess- blood coated my hands and face, and my jeans were torn in three places. The bottoms of my socks had disintegrated on the run here, and all that was left of them was the elastic around my ankle and some small flaps of fabric. Disgusted, I tore off the socks and tossed them away. I ripped my jeans so that they looked more like shorts, and the worst of the tears didn't show. I used the extra fabric to wipe the blood off my hands and face. Finally feeling somewhat decent, I turned to Alice.

"Good job," she said. I scowled. "Are you still thirsty?" she asked.

"Yeah," I said, sighing. "After all that, and I barely feel a difference. Alice shrugged and started running again. I followed.

As we ran, I practiced smelling. It had taken me much longer to smell the bear than it had for Alice too. I didn't like that, so I worked on trying to identify different scents. I could tell the difference between a lot of different flowers, and I could smell lots of animals. One reminded me of a dog- maybe a fox or coyote. I continued inhaling deeply, paying little attention to where I was going and what Alice was doing. Consquently, I didn't notice when she stopped running and phased out, obviously seeing something. But I didn't see that. All I could do was smell, because suddenly something had totally dominated me.

I could smell the most amazing scent _ever._ Nothing could ever be so appealing. I couldn't stop myself- I veered off the path Alice and I had been on and headed to the right. I ran faster, stronger. I was consumed. I couldn't stop- not that I made any effort too. I wanted this, whatever it was. I _wanted._ More than I'd ever wanted something

before.

_I know it's short. I'm sorry. I wrote it in like ten minutes because people were mad at me. Sorry again. I'm working on the next chapter._

_Review please! I write more when people like my stuff and actually TELL me!_


	12. Chapter 12 Devour

**Chapter 12. Devour.**

The smell grew stronger. There was no stopping me now. I had to have it.

A breeze blew from my left into my face. It was clean air. It cleared my brain from the intoxication of that other smell, and it let me think clearly for just a second- but that was all I needed.

My impressive new vampire mind spent about one-fourth of my second thinking of what the scent might be. Now that I wasn't so distracted, it was easy to figure out. It was human. Then about half of the remaining second was consumed as I decided I didn't want to eat the humans, whoever they were. The last fourth was realizing that I was still running directly for them, and I had to stop.

All of that in _one second._

Unfortunately, that was when I reached my prey. Two men on a hiking path, just walking contentedly. There was nothing to suggest fear in their faces. But I couldn't think about that. I could see the blood behind their thin skin, I could hear the wet sloshing sound their hearts made, I could feel the heat that radiated from them, and I could still smell them. For a sixteenth of a second, I wondered how the Cullens could stand being around me. And then, I attacked the humans. They were dead before they'd noticed me.

~~**~~

No one could ever be more ashamed than I was.

Two innocent, harmless, inoffensive men, with hopes and dreams and families and friends and pets and _lives._ They were gone now. All of those hopes and dreams and families and friends and pets were crushed. I had killed all of those, too.

And I'd hardly been able to enjoy myself. I sucked one dry, then the other, in seconds. There was no respect for the dead here. Their faces weren't happy and peaceful anymore. They were frozen in the strange transition from happy to shock. Like a picture snapped at the wrong second.

I was a killer.

~~**~~

Alice showed up several seconds after. I'd already consumed my victims and I was lying on the ground in a shapeless heap. Not in a dirty pool of blood, like in some dramatic movie. Any blood around here would've been sucked up in an instant.

She brought me to a sitting position and tried to talk to me. She kept telling me that it was okay. She didn't blame me. She wasn't mad. No one else would be mad. I didn't believe anything.

"Can you walk? We probably shouldn't stay here. This is a much traversed path. Someone else might come," Alice said. I stood and followed her. We didn't run like we had before. There was no joy in my movement now. I followed listlessly.

We reached the house. I didn't realize where Alice was taking me until it was too late for me to turn back- she'd lead me to the stable. I didn't want to see Sailor now.

But she'd already opened the door. I could hear him shuffling around in his stall, impatient to be out. He probably hadn't had much company in the past days.

I walked in slowly, at a human pace. I stopped in front of the door to the stall. Sailor took one look at me, and it the emotion on his face was obvious. He most certainly didn't recognize me. He wasn't happy to see me. He wished the stable door had never opened.

He was afraid.

I was a monster.

My own horse thought so. I was a monster to my own horse.

Even so, I couldn't help but want to pet him. To stroke his neck and spend hours fussing over him. Unthinking, I reached out to touch him. He immediately drew back from my outstretched hand. That was too much for me to bear. I broke.

I was running. I didn't know where I was going. _Away from here,_ a tiny voice in my mind said. Alice was following me, but I was so much stronger that I was far away soon. Eventually I could no longer hear her footsteps. I didn't know where I was. Probably in Idaho. I didn't stop running. Why should I? I wanted to get away. I would never tire, I could see that now. And yet I didn't stop.


	13. Chapter 13 Dead

_Whoops. I just noticed that I forgot to write anything on the last chapter. *shifty eyes.*_

_WHOO! I've officially gotten 100 REVIEWS! Happy!_

_Sorry I haven't been updating a lot. I totally hit a mind block about two chapters ago._

_Now, I have two options for you. Option one is that I write a conclusive chapter and this is a sad story forever._

_Option two (and I must get a whole-hearted response from everyone for this too work) is for you to help me out. Just send me ideas, any ideas, to keep it going. Keep in mind that, while I will be sure to give you credit for any ideas I use, I might tweak one, or blend two together or something. But if you want me to keep writing I need help._

**Chapter 13. Dead.**

I stuck to unpopulated areas as I ran. I didn't want to put myself in temptation's path.

I was lost in self-pity. I wished Carlisle had never changed me. Now I could never die, never escape what I was and always would be.

After a couple of days, I started to slow down. I would stop and stand for a moment, then continue my directionless journey.

_Sorry it's not a real chapter. I seriously have lost my creativity. It jumped out the window. Sorry again._

_And please remember *option two*_


	14. Chapter 14 Get Over It

_Thanks to everyone who helped me out with this- I got ten reviews overnight! I was really impressed by the number of people who really seemed to love my story._

_A lot of people suggested the same sort of thing, so I decided to go with that, especially because it was something I considered before asking for ideas._

_I give credit to __hikarinohana, Kelly, -kayla3194-, and __colliechild__. __Thanks to all of you!_

_(One note- a lot of people recommended romance. I appreciate the idea, but I am NOT going to write anything romantic. First, I want to keep the K+ rating. I doubt I have many 9-year-old readers, but I still want to keep it. Second, __**I cannot write romance!**__Trust me, I tried. The original chapter 10 featured romance and it was horrible. Be glad I didn't post it.)_

**Chapter 14. Get Over It.**

I was walking when I came upon him. Lately I'd stopped and walked often, just for the heck of it.

"Hello, you are Morgan?" he asked me. He had a very thick German accent. It was hard to understand.

"Um, yeah, that's me?" I stammered.

"I am Adalrik. Carlisle told me you were coming my way- I only assumed it must be you. I do not see many of our kind here." That was understandable. We were somewhere in the Midwest, with very little trees and lots of sun.

"Oh, okay," I said. This Adalrik was nice.

"Come inside. The cloud cover will not last long. You glow already," he said. I glanced at my hand. He was right. My skin let off a faint shimmer.

He led me into a barn of some sort. It was obviously abandoned now, but I couldn't help but be reminded of Sailor.

"So you are the one who regrets what you did, yes?" he asked me. I nodded and turned away a bit. I didn't really want to talk about it.

"You should talk about it," he suggested in a soft voice. "It will make you feel better."

Suddenly that was exactly what I wanted to do. I wanted to blurt it all out in one massive vent, and then cry for a long time until I had no more tears.

"I just… killed them! It wasn't worth it, even. I was still thirsty!" I shouted. I remembered that I couldn't cry now, but that wasn't really true. I sobbed- just without the tears. It was awkward and unnatural, but then, what wasn't in this new world.

"But you are not thirsty anymore." Adalrik said.

That caught my attention. "No… I'm not…" I gasped between sobs.

"That is it!" he suddenly shouted.

"That's what?"

"That is what you can do. You are peaceful. You cannot stand yourself when you hurt someone, so you block out whatever makes you hurt them. You are not thirsty now because you do not want to hurt any humans. You will never be thirsty again because you are so peaceful. You got past the thirst. You are amazing, if you have to ask me." Adalrik explained.

Wow. That made me feel special. Maybe I couldn't see the future or read minds or something, but now I wouldn't be a total monster all my life. My sobs slowed, and then stopped.

"How did you know?" I asked. "There's no special test or something, for powers, right?"

"I steal things. I steal powers, if you want to use such a childish term. When I am near you, I am suddenly not thirsty. It is like when I am near Edward, and I hear thoughts. I was very thirsty before you came. Now I am not," he said.

"Um. I guess I should go back, then?" I pondered aloud. "They're probably mad at me. I kind of left without saying good bye."

"Yes. I do not think they are mad at you, though. But they must miss you."

So I made plans to leave at nightfall. Until then, we were both stuck inside the barn. We talked endlessly, about when I was human and my time with the Cullens. Adalrik was hesitant to tell me anything about his past, but I managed to squeeze some information out of him. He was bitten around the time of the Holocaust as he tried to leave Germany. He was twenty-six then. He seemed a lot smarter, wiser, than any other twenty-six-year-old, even taking into account the many years he'd been stuck at this age.

_That's all I got. I recently picked up a new book and it's absolutely amazing, so I haven't had a whole lot of writing time. Expect "Hunger Games" fanfics in the future._

_Review please! Your encouragement is all that keeps me writing!_


	15. Chapter 15 Change of Plans

_So sorry about the wait. I kinda forgot about it. Honestly, the story's gone down the drain. I think I'm going to wrap it up soon... If these next few chapters turn out good. I don't want to end with bad chapters._

_I can go on making excuses all day, but basically I had Writes testing last week or the week before, and then my laptop broke and I lost about half of a rough draft for this chapter. Just read it. I cut it off in a funny place but I'm hopefully posting the next chapter within the week._

**Chapter 15. Change of Plans.**

I had planned to leave just after sunset, as soon as I could be outside without sparkling. That didn't really happen. Adalrik and I got so caught up in our conversation that it wasn't until midnight or later that I finally left.

I'd figured that I could make it to the Cullens' before sunrise, even though it had taken me days coming here. Now I was on a straight course, but running late.

I realized I wasn't going to make it a few hours before the sun came up. Hesitantly, I drew up to a small town, stopping every few minutes to inhale deeply and assure myself that I wasn't going to make any unexpected homicides. When I reached the first commercial buildings and slowed to a human pace, I decided to stop worrying. I walked up to an older lady standing at a bus stop. (There were a few men around, but from the way they ogled at me, I doubted that I could get any coherent answer from them.)

"Um, excuse me, but I was wondering if you could point me to the shopping mall?" I asked the woman. Hopefully, there would be some indoor mall nearby that I could hide inside for the rest of the day. There wasn't anything strange about a sixteen year old hanging out at the mall all day, was there?

The lady seemed a little surprised that I didn't know, but she politely directed me towards downtown.

I walked impatiently. After three or four days of straight running, it was bothersome to maintain a human pace. I was so distracted that I didn't notice the men right away.

The three figures were obviously trying to maintain secrecy, but it didn't work. Their muted footsteps would have easily avoided human ears, but not mine. They slowly started gaining on me. I wasn't afraid of whatever they wanted with me, but eventually I decided to confront them. But as I turned to face them, a small breeze blew in my face, and all my confidence was swept away with the wind.

They were vampires.

I knew I was stronger than them, being a newborn, but there were three. I wasn't exactly about to try and fight my way through them. And the sun was edging closer and closer to the horizon.

The three men walked up to me boldly, leaving their sneaky façade behind.

"Hello, Morgan, I am Demitri. I am here with Felix—" Demitri motioned to the man on his left—"and Santiago. We are representing the Volturi—might you come with us? It would save a whole lot of trouble if you come quietly."

I couldn't see another option, so I followed Demitri. The other two men walked close on my heels. I could feel the beginnings of claustrophobia.

Just as the sun was beginning to rise, Demitri led me into a large building. The men around me fell into a more relaxed position as we past the hotel clerk, even though she wasn't looking. They walked confidently up two flights of stairs and down one hallway, where Demitri stopped at one of the doors and used an electronic card to open it.

"We can't be destroying things that don't belong to us," Demitri said. I almost started to doubt the bad things I'd been thinking about him when he added, "That would look awfully suspicious, hmmm?"

The room was cozier than most hotels were. The bed sheets weren't stiff as paper, and the sofa actually looked inviting, despite my new never-tired body. It was obvious we weren't staying here long, though. The two men stood by the door, and Demitri quickly grabbed some grey material and threw it at me. It was a cloak, just like the ones they wore. I draped it on over the clothes I was already wearing. My face disappeared in the dark hood. I found it very reassuring.

This time, as Demitri walked in front and the others behind, I was led not back toward the entrance, but down a back staircase. Demitri strode confidently towards the parking lot, where he opened the door to a non-descript Sudan made by a company I didn't recognize. I was pushed none too gently into the back seat. One of the men—I think Felix—climbed in next to me. Demitri and the third man sat up front.

As it turned out, the Sudan had a lot of speed to it. The drive to the nearest airport was only about an hour. Demitri somehow convinced the female clerk to put us on a flight that left in ten minutes. We had no luggage, so that pretty much took care of Customs. We made the flight with minutes to spare.

The flight went to Rome. I wondered constantly where these men were taking me. I probably could've escaped from them in the hotel room, where no one could see me, or in the car on the empty highway, but it hadn't occurred to me. I was not a person known to be very smart in delicate situations.

We landed a few hours later, but the time difference had me all confused. We stepped out of the airport and I had no idea what time it was.

I got into the next car with no hesitation. I wanted this to be over, and I figured the less time I spent fighting them, the sooner I could be home. I just hoped the cash in my pocket (Alice made sure I never went anywhere empty-handed, so even as I changed from human to vampire, I was prepared for anything) would be enough to buy a plane ticket home.

Demitri drove well over the speed limit once we made it to the highway. Funny, how I would worry about speeding when I was being held hostage by three falsely-friendly vampires.

"Welcome to Volterra," Demitri said grimly. We were passing through what appeared to be a humongous gate leading to an ornate city. I didn't pay much attention to the view, though it must have been beautiful. I was nervous. The high walls surrounding the place made me feel trapped.

Demitri had to stop and park the car before we reached wherever it was we were going. We stuck close to buildings, hiding in shadows despite the cloaks. We passed a large square, then down a long, narrow alley. At the end, Demitri presented me with what appeared to be a sewer cap. He lifted it, revealing a hole that was just wide enough for me to fit through.

"Jump," he told me, as if I wasn't smart enough to figure that out myself. I made a face. Jumping into raw sewage wasn't high on my list of things to do before I died… if I did.

"It's not sewage—" Demitri said, exasperated. "But it's probably a good idea if you go first, Felix."

Felix jumped without a moment's hesitation. I listened for the sickening squelch, but heard nothing. It sounded like his feet his rock.

"Morgan, go. We aren't going to wait all day," Demitri commanded. His calm demeanor had almost entirely disappeared.

I jumped.

_So yeah, that's it. A cliffhanger. Don't you just hate me now?_

_I'm working on writing Hunger Games fanfics, basically I'm just writing how each of my friends and I would survive/not survive the Games. If you haven't read the book, read it. Before I hurt you._


	16. Chapter 16 Epilogue

_I fail. Epically. I'm so sorry. I'm writing this only so that I can halfway feel as though I'm not a total loser. Oh well. I've been so freaking busy, what with high school starting and two AP classes, et cetera. (Go Latin.) Bye. (Not really. I'll write something else when inspiration hits.)_

**Epilogue**

Morgan met with Aro and the rest of the Volturi family to convince them that she had been changed. (They had been watching her and Carlisle, and were frustrated that the Cullens continued to "break" their rules.) She returned home to the Cullens and was embraced by all of them, including Rosalie, despite what she'd done. She never regained Sailor's trust, but she also was able to let him go when another (human) girl who dreamt of horses received him as a birthday gift and was purely delighted. She saw Adalrik only once more, when they stumbled upon each other about two years later by chance. Essentially, she was happy, living as the monster who denied what she was.


End file.
